So I have access to private land, this piece of prosperity is a few thousand acres near the ohio river, it has one pond that is 1 mile x a few hundred yards and then a bunch of cattle ponds. I'd like to plant so,etching or manage the area around d the ponds and lake to attract more ducks. It also has another lake in the woods that's at least a half mile x 100 yards tha I could damn up the creek that flows out of it to get it to flood again, must be an old beaver pond. Allot of the times the water is empty, it will have allot of coots and a few mallards that spook easy when I get there. With the little I've given you and since you haven't seen it, what few options could I do to better manage the area to make it produce more thank you and God bless.

sounds like you have the potential to have a really nice place. if you have that much water on the property you should have ducks. sounds like your spots have something is missing (or not missing i.e. predators) contributing of your lack of waterfowl. I would contact you local DU or delta biologist if there is one close by and show them your spots. they might be able to assess each spot and shed light on what each spot will need to make it productive. I know in NY our DEC biologist will come out to do that in hopes of improving wetland in the state.

Just posted this to give some info that I am neither advocating or pushing. I have a client that recently installed this plant, the Banana Water Lily, in a waterfowl impoundment I constructed for him and we have not yet gone thru a hunting season as of yet. So, the jury is still out. After this season, I may be able to give you a better assessment. In the meantime, here is the post I made for another fella.

I do agree with asking your local DU regional biologist, that's what they are there for and they'll have the knowledge of what works in your area. One of the simple things you can do is look around online for commercial waterfowl seed mixes, and plant those around the edges of your ponds. A lot of companies make them. They come with things like wild rice, millet, sago pondweed, wild celery, smartweed, etc. If you get a mix with a lot of the native wetland plants in it, they should be able to keep re-seeding themselves in future years, and you'll hopefully have a good food source in and around your ponds. Good luck!